Rejected Luna Returns with Secret Twins (Lysandra) novel Chapter 35

Lysandra’s POV

Silence stretched between us. I set Kieran’s phone down with shaking fingers, my mind racing

“It’s a trap, Lyss,” Kieran said, arm coming around my shoulders. He’s using his father to manipulate you.”

1 know, I nodded, chewing my lower lip. ‘But if Fenris really is sick…‘

Astrid stirred within me, her presence suddenly alert and eager. We should go. Our mate needs us.

He is NOT our mate anymore, I reminded her sharply, but she only whined in response, pushing against my consciousness with surprising force.

At least let me come with you,‘ Kieran insisted, his eyes searching mine.

I shook my head. “If I show up with Moonshade’s Beta in tow, they’ll see it as a provocation.”

Reluctantly, he nodded. I quickly wrapped up my work and headed home, my thoughts scattered and unfocused.

In my bedroom, I pulled out a small suitcase and methodically filled it with essentials. As I reached for my toiletry bag, my fingers brushed against a framed photo of the twins. I picked it up, tracing their smiling faces with trembling fingers.

What if I accidentally left something behind at Silverblood? What if Tristan found a photo of the twins? What if he noticed Orion’s eyes–his eyes–and put it all together?

Panic constricted my chest. I couldn’t risk it. I emptied the suitcase, carefully checking each item for anything that might reveal the twins existence. No photos. Nothing with their names. Nothing that could give them away.

Astrid growled softly. You’re being paranoid. He saw them at the airport.

He saw two random children. He didn’t see HIS children, I countered, zipping the sanitized bag closed with more force than necessary.

I knocked on my father’s study door before entering. Mom and Dad looked up from where they sat together on the leather sofa.

Dad’s eyes narrowed the moment he saw the suitcase in my hand. “Kieran called us. You’re actually going?*

“Dad-”

‘It’s obviously a trap,” he cut me off, rising to his feet. His normally gentle demeanor had hardened into something dangerous. “After what that man did to you five years ago…”

‘Caspian,” Mom laid a restraining hand on his arm. “Lysandra is a grown woman.”

“A grown woman with children who need her,” he countered, voice sharp. “Children who can never meet their father.”

The brutal truth of his words hit me. I sank into a chair, suddenly exhausted.

‘I’ll be careful, I promised. “I’ll see Fenris briefly and return. That’s all.”

Mom crossed the room to kneel before me, taking my hands in hers. “Take your purple wolf sedative,” she whispered, eyes intense with worry. “If Astrid pulls you toward him…”

I nodded, grateful for her understanding. Astrid had been uncharacteristically vocal since Tristan’s call, pushing me toward him with an urgency that frightened me.

Dad’s expression softened slightly. “I’ve arranged for extra security around the twins while you’re gone. No one outside the family can access them.”

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Chapter 35

The knot in my stomach loosened marginally. At least I knew they’d be safe.

I found the twins in their bedroom, Lyra cross–legged on her bed working on a drawing, Orion arranging toy soldiers on the floor.

Hey, moonbeams,” I said softly, sitting beside Lyra. “Mom needs to go somewhere for a little while.

“Where, Mommy?‘ She didn’t look up, her small hand carefully shading something blue on the paper.

“Silverblood Pack. I won’t be gone long.”

Lyra’s hand froze. She lifted her head, eyes suddenly bright with interest. “Will you see that handsome uncle there? The one from the airport?”

Something in her eager expression sent ice through my veins. The intensity of her reaction seemed disproportionate for a child who’d only briefly met a stranger.

“Why do you ask about him, sweetheart?”

Lyra’s face scrunched in thought. “I don’t know. He seemed… important.” Her eyes took on a distant quality that made her look far older than her five years. “Like someone I was supposed to know.”

Orion stood abruptly, toy soldiers forgotten. “I don’t like him,” he declared, but uncertainty flickered in his expression. ‘He feels… strange.”

My heart pounded painfully against my ribs. How could they sense it? Was the blood bond between father and children strong enough to transcend the distance I’d carefully maintained?

“Baby, he’s just a stranger,” I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. “We won’t see him again.”

Lyra sighed dramatically, then held up her drawing. “Look what I made!”

A family. Four stick figures stood together on a green patch of grass. Two tall ones–clearly adults–and two smaller ones, holding hands in a line.

“Mommy, Daddy, me and my brother. My family,” I read the childish scrawl at the top, my voice barely audible.

“Teacher asked everyone to draw their family,” Lyra explained, eyes wide and innocent.

I placed the drawing carefully on the bed and pulled her into my arms, blinking rapidly to hold back tears. How long had I been avoiding this? Every time they asked about their father, I deflected with vague stories about a man who lived far away.

“When will we meet our daddy?” Orion asked suddenly, his voice small but determined. “Everyone else has one.”

The simple question shattered what remained of my composure. I pulled him into our embrace, holding both children so tightly they squirmed.

“I don’t know, moonbeam,” I whispered, the lie bitter on my tongue. “But you have me, and Uncle Alaric, and Grandma and Grandpa who love you very

much.”

“And Uncle Kieran, Lyra added helpfully.

“Yes, and Uncle Kieran.”

I held them a moment longer, inhaling their scent committing it to memory. “I’ll be back in two days. Be good for Grandma and Grandpa, okay?”

They nodded solemnly, both kissing my cheeks before I reluctantly released them.

Dinner was a tense affair. Alaric glared at me from across the table, jaw clenched tight enough to crack teeth.

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Chapter 35